because so many are reading these things....my latest movie review..."Yo Yo Girl Cop"

If you're not reading Lisa Katayama's Tokyomango blog, shame on you. It's really good, has all kinds of awesome links, and managed to do the impossible - get me to the theater (again), get me to go to the Opera Plaza Theater on Van Ness (hitherto considered impossible) and see a movie called Yo Yo Girl Cop (aka Sukeban Deka).

Ok, so that last part sealed the deal. You didni't think I'd pass up a chance to see ass-kicking fighting chicks in a film directed by one of the makers of Battle Royale, now, did you?

Seeing a film like this in a theater on a dreary Sunday, as weather sucked and totally delayed my upcoming new feature on the N-Judah Chronicles in a little out of the way theater like the O.P. is as much an experience as the film itself, due to the odd assortment of folks there to see what is essentially a manga come to life. There were the following:

-the two hipster older guys who were talking about the "Star Wars" episode of Robot Chicken
-the Japanese couple in their 70s
-an assortment of random indie moviegoers who frequent Landmark type theaters, most of whom were there to see something else and saw this instead (or by mistake)
-the two dudes at the front of the theater who had to make sure all of us know how much they thought the upcoming "Lady Chatterly's Lover" film from France will suck (thanks guys, we appreciate the insight, no really)
-the chick with the "Cowboy Bebop" bag (come on that is just cool, I mean seriously....)
-and of course, the guy in the black shirt....

So, when our lead character, a super crime fighting gal who's undercover in a Japanese high school trying to solve The Mystery of The Chick Who Got Blown Up in Tokyo, armed only with her strength, wits, and a yo yo of doom, the audience reaction provided as much entertainment as the movie itself, which was fine.

One could tell Kenta Fukasaku (co director of BR and son of the legendary director Kinji Fukasaku) made this film, and for me that's all I really need. Battle Royale however, still remains an all time favorite. If you've ever had a really crappy day at work, watching this is way better thearpy than say, crack cocaine.

Usually I see this sort of thing at home, on the home theater, if only because it's kind of hard to explain when that 10.50 ticket for "Yo Yo Girl Cop" falls out of your wallet. I really only went because knowing Netflix and their time-distortion delays when it comes to releasing certain foreign films in our lifetime, I figured this was the best way to see it.

If you get a chance, check it out, but don't delay if y're all interested. I made that mistake with Daywatch and missed the darn thing before I could see it......sigh....but that's another post...